Julianne Moore is at the peak of her charms as a 45-year-old spinster schoolteacher in Pennsylvania who encourages a former student with his writing, committing herself to seeing that his original play is approved by the school board for production by the drama department, but instead yielding herself to a sexual indiscretion in the process. Tangled-web dark comedy, framed like a modern day absurdist fairy tale, begins as a lightly-comic character study before fusing itself to a sharp satire of the high school dynamic. Fortunately, both sides work beautifully, with excellent supporting turns by Michael Angarano (a terrific young actor), Greg Kinnear as the boy's father and Nathan Lane as the passionate drama teacher. Extremely well-written by Dan and Stacy Chariton, who provide such an offbeat touch to both situation and dialogue that one never knows what's going to happen next. A marvelous surprise! *** from ****
Review of The English Teacher
